CycleWay 9: Still in the planning and development phase. It will be helpful to demonstrate support for the scheme by way of emails to councillors. Please email your local councillors now and tell them why improving cycling infrastructure is important for you and your family, your neighbours and your local businesses. Find your councillors here: https://bit.ly/2WZrMyz

CW9 will next be discussed at PAC Meeting 18/06/19 at H&F Town Hall. We want to encourage local residents to come and show support for CycleWay 9.

Children undertake Bikeability Training in primary school but most of the time they are restricted from riding on the roads by their parents. They then question the point of learning these new skills when they are not allowed to develop the confidence. More inclusive training for young people and parents is required. The environment needs to feel safer to encourage parents.

We need to engage with students living and youth councils in the borough to make their voices heard. Car ownership for those 35 years and younger is very low in our borough. We want to hear from them and how best we can meet their needs.

Cllr Iain Cassidy spoke about the state of cycling in the borough and the need for more of the silent majority who quietly support the idea of cycling to make their voices heard. He gave an example of BeeLines Project in Manchester where local residents got involved in the redesigning of cycle routes in the area. https://youtu.be/Py659WIZRsYThe project was designed from the onset with local residents involvement which gave them a strong sense of ownership. By the time it came to consultation it was received positively with points raised as tweaks and improvements. David Blackett said that in his IT Consultancy they use a similar approach where design is client and end user led.

Free Cycle training is available from the borough and can be booked through the council’s website: https://bit.ly/2GIMg7l

DUTCH CYCLING CULTURE

Cllr Cassidy spoke about research by Dr Rachel Aldred, Reader in Transport at the University of Westminster on the priority for Dutch cycling infrastructure design. A defining feature was that a cycling accident should not cost your life. Find out more about some of the projects, publications, and events that Dr Rachel Aldred is involved in at http://rachelaldred.org/ or on Twitter at @RachelAldred.

“Chris Boardman compares cycling in Holland and Britain.”– 33% of journeys in Utrecht are done by bikes; 50% of children go to school by bike– Less than 1% of cyclists in the Netherlands wear helmets, yet the country has the lowest incidents of head injuries in the world.https://youtu.be/zq28fU2AuMU

“From the Netherlands Translating the World’s Best Bikeway Designs.” This video shows how Dutch built their cycling infrastructure. You might be surprised it wasn’t all plain sailing. Officials from US cities came to learn from the design successes. https://youtu.be/kp3s2EP0zVo

After watching both videos we discussed the uptake of cycling in UK and compared it to Holland and Germany. We noted that the British surge in cycling only started in 2012 following success in the Olympics. Cllr Cassidy spoke of research comparing medium size British and German cities and looking at children’s independence. In the 70’s children started leaving the home for independent tasks at about the same age of 9-10 to go to school, go to the shops, etc. By the 90’s in Germany the age had gone up by about a year whereas in UK the age had shop up to 13-14. Dutch roads are as safe as British roads but the difference is that Dutch roads are recognised as space for children to play and inhabit whereas British roads have had the children replaced by cars. The British attitude is that children should be in the house, the park or the back garden while Dutch attitude is children should be playing on the street outside their home.

CAMPAIGN PRIORITIES

Awareness of cyclists that motorists have.

Hierarchy of vulnerability: pedestrians, mobility vehicles, cyclists, motorcyclists, cars, vans, buses, lorries. Priority should be given to the most vulnerable in order while at present the motorcars has road priority. There should be presumed liability. In many other countries pedestrians and cyclists have priority when cars turn left or right.

David Ford suggested improved cycle route maintenance.

These points will be emailed to LCC for consideration.

BIKE SECURITY WITH PC BROWN

PC Christopher Brown promised to release the CCTV footage of the theft of Casey & Peri’s bikes from North End Road Market. We want to show this video to help inform people. We are awaiting the footage.

A significant number of bike thefts have occurred at the cafe and toilet in Richmond Park. It would seem thieves come dressed as cyclists and steal bikes.

We asked PC Brown about reports that North End Road is being targeted for bike thefts.

Alexander Bastin submitted photos of Fulham High Street by Fulham Pre-Prep School where the pavement forces cyclists into the path of traffic. At present there is a traffic light and island that forces vehicles to veer left into cyclists. We are asking the council to look into possible options to improve this, including relocating the crossing, removing the island or moving the bus stop. Iain Cassidy will discuss it with Chris Bainbridge and get back to us.

We discussed the current state with roadworks being undertaken by utility companies. Utility companies are responsible for refilling the roads after they dig them up. They work to their own standards which do not always meet the council’s approval. However this is the current operating framework.

Casey suggested to the council that for any cycle paths build along trunk roads that noise shielding be erected. They can be used to generate advertising revenue. Such noise barriers are common in other European cities and shield both noise and particulate pollution. We ask that LBHF adopts this as an identifying feature. Casey has also asked the same of TfL.

RIDE TRAINING / FREECYCLE

ECC is organising Ride Leader Training 27th April 2019. We want to encourage confident cyclists to attend this training as we will need ride leaders for the coming London Freeride this summer. The training is free for participants, but places are limited and you do need to register via the link: https://membership.lcc.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=234

BRAKES & GEARS MAINTENANCE

Casey demonstrated how to clean and service your brake and gear cables. We recommend that if riding in the rain you do this once a week. In general if you cycle on a regular basis you should service your bike at least 2 times per year but rain increases the wear on your bike.

Casey gave an explanation on how and why to clean your chain.

At each meeting Casey will demonstrate a bike maintenance tip for those present.

PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS

HFC is looking for contributors and communication volunteers in relation to our web site, Facebook and Twitter. I am sure most of you take photos and videos during rides, and you come across interesting places and situation during your daily and weekend commutes. As long as the image or video is related to cycling we want to share it with HFCyclists followers. If you are happy your story to be shared please send it by email to hfcyclists@lcc.org.uk or by Viber or WhatsApp toCasey (HFCyclists Chair) at 07975612368 orPeri (HFCyclists Administrative Management) at 07878327353

HFC needs a WordPress developer to volunteer to carry out monthly website updates. If you are interested please get in touch.

RIDES AND SOCIAL EVENTS

HFCyclists will organise a ride every 3rd Sunday of the month.

HFC Ride 28th April 2019: from Hammersmith to Richmond and Wimbledon

North End Road Spring Market – 14th Apr 2019

Cycling events and rides will be added to HFCyclists Google Public Calendar which will be shared for everyone to access.

Thank you to Ken McCosh for organising the last ride to Kensington Gardens and the Serpentine Sackler Gallery. We had a lovely ride through quiet Kensington streets avoiding Kensington High Street. Highlights of the ride were meeting Jeremy Vine with his mesmerising Penny-Farthing bicycle and visiting the Grace Wales Bonner: A Time for New Dreams exhibition. Check photos from the ride at Facebook: https://bit.ly/2GG22BV or https://twitter.com/hfcyclists

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

“Fancy a stroll on a new elevated park in Hammersmith?” – a site visit is being organised on 17/04. A disused railway tracks could become an elevated park in Hammersmith. A public competition is being staged to generate ideas. Do you have any cycling idea that could be incorporated? https://bit.ly/2VnLzXU

Innovative grass to protect cyclists and pedestrians from pollution. “Grass is greener for innovative Hammersmith cycle path scheme” – https://bit.ly/2uHFIkK article from 20/10/16. What’s the result almost 2.5 years later?Casey and Peri cycled there recently and didn’t see any grass. We asked Iain Cassidy but he wasn’t aware of this project.

Have you noticed any reduction in traffic in Central London since the introduction of the ULEZ? ULEZ was introduced at the beginning of the Easter School Holiday, so we will wait to see its impact on daily traffic.

HFCyclists meeting place: We have discussed whether to change the place of our regular meetings from a member’s residence to a public place. Suggested locations are Hammersmith Town Hall, local pub or cafe, or a community space. If the location is changed to a public place will that be more appealing to you and where do you suggest we should meet?

Richard Duffill (LBHF) is trying to organise a meeting between local businesses, community groups and local cyclists in relation to drafting a new Walk and Cycle Strategy for the borough.

Cycling Achievements for the month

No entries for this month

DATE OF NEXT MEETING: 14th May 2019, 19:30-21:00

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DAIRY

14 Apr 2019, 10am-5pm, North End Road Spring Market

27th April 2019, 10am-3pm, Ride Leader Training

28th April 2019, Sunday – HFCyclists Ride

18th June 2019, 7.00 pm, Tuesday: Community Safety and Environment Policy and Accountability Committee at the H&F Town Hall

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About us

We are the local branch of the London Cycle Campaign (LCC) for the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. We also cover Shepherd's Bush but that's not part of the name of our borough, a fuller guide to where we cover is here.